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Coronavirus: Concerns over 'out of pocket' rail passengers

Some rail passengers have been waiting eight weeks for a season ticket refund and are not clear on when they will get the money, a lobby group has said.

Passengers were promised refunds at the start of the coronavirus lockdown to encourage them to stay at home.

Transport Focus said some were still waiting for refunds of several hundreds of pounds.

Rail companies said they had processed more season ticket refunds than in the whole of last year.

Out of pocket

In late March, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government would "ensure no-one is unfairly out of pocket for doing the right thing" when he said refunds would be granted to those staying at home.

In a survey of 700 passengers last week, Transport Focus said a third of those asked had not yet received a refund, and six in 10 had not been kept informed over how long it would take.

They included one passenger who said he had no idea of the progress of his claim for a £3,000 refund, and another who said he had been waiting for eight weeks for £720 to be returned.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the watchdog, said: “While the majority of passengers have received a refund, six weeks on from applying others are still out of pocket and in the dark.”